Phantoms zip by
quieter than owls’ wings
quicker than flickers of shadow
against the dawn.
Catching the morning light
dust motes circle above the hay
on air currents disturbed
by invisible guests.
Discarded feathers and bits of eggshell
resting on the old concrete floor
beneath a beam are a clue.
The goats and I are not alone.
Barn swallows have returned.
My cat's eyes are like topaz flecked
with garnets.
I never noticed until
one day I stopped
and stared.
I wondered how
such wonder
should go unnoticed.
I glanced into the garden
and spotted
that crimson
in princess feather plumes
and frying peppers
and tomatoes.
Can we ever get enough
of beauty?
where baby red-winged blackbirds
splash in shady spots
where plump bumblebees burrow
into hostas' fragrant flowers
where sneaky squirrels steal sour fruit
from the ancient apple tree
where black swallowtails float
above purple phlox
where sphinx moths sip from beebalm
the color of raspberry wine
where the garden beckons
offering herself to all.
I am out of words today. Weighed down with grief, I watch as the powerful betray everyone else, and words of resilience and hope are not ready at hand. Thankfully, I have a garden and live among the wild ones who come to share it. It is with both, who have no notion of a nation’s struggle, that my mind can momentarily rest.
Today, instead of words, here are glimpses of the gifts that are still here, waiting to be noticed.
Swamp milkweed, bees and beetles
As the vixen screams in the darkeness from the field across the road
I acknowledge the gift I've been given.
As the red-headed woodpecker calls from a black locust in the back woods
I realize I have been heard.
As tree swallows swoop above waving meadow grasses
for a moment I am living in Eden.
As the oriole's sweet song floats from the treetops
I lift my own quiet song of thanksgiving.
As the catbird chatters into the evening
I know I am where I belong, after all.
"O God, you have searched me and you know me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me to comprehend."
Psalm 139
In the distance a barred owl sings
to the dark of a summer night
calling to his mate
or offspring.
Or perhaps he announces to the world
he is still here.
As are you.
Take courage.
Take heart.
The day will dawn when we can rest.
Yet her life blood flowed
and her limbs were strong
and in the alchemy
of her intention
new buds formed
and opened one by one.
The bees
returned.
